The Lion King: Zaria's Path
by OmegusXIII
Summary: With his chance at obtaining the throne lost, Scar delved deeper into hatred and determination to take it back. However, with his only daughter in the mix, Zaria will have to choose between loyalty to her father or loyalty to the Pride Lands. This is her story. (Contains plots of both 2019 and 1994 versions and Lion Guard references).
1. Life's Not Fair

**A/N: Hello, everyone. :) Now, since the new Lion King is coming out, I figured it'd be a great way to celebrate by making a story out of it. I always loved it as a little kid. And I kept getting mixed feelings from others toward the remake. Honestly, I had some mixed feelings, too. For instance, I consider it difficult to detect any emotion from the main characters of the remake. And, I really felt that "Be Prepared" should've been longer. But the upsides of it are the cast. Like Chiwetel Ejiofor, who portrayed Scar. I'm aware he can't replace Jeremy Irons, but I really felt that he gave Scar a good rep. Although, I'll miss his trademark use of sarcasm... which is why I'll add it in this story. So, to clear things up, this story will be based off on both versions of The Lion King but will have the prime music of the 2019 version of the movie, and either Jeremy Irons or Chiwetel Ejiofor will portray Scar in this one. I'm still trying to decide which one to use, honestly, so please P.M. me or leave a review when you want to vote on Irons or Ejiofor. And the rest of the cast will be portrayed by the 1994 version's cast. Also, to give Scar more in-depth characterization, I added in his role in the Lion Guard. Personally, I have no clue who was in Scar's Guard, so I rolled with it and added at least one OC in it. Beyond that, I hope you have a great time. :)**

**Prologue: **Life's Not Fair

The day had come. The day when the King and Queen of Pride Rock had sired a royal son that will be the future king, a prince, in other words. The animals that were presented with the young cub known as Simba immediately acknowledged him as such, demonstrated with a reverent bow from each and every one of them. Prior to the presentation, Rafiki engaged in ceremony with the cub to determine his traits. For example, when he played with the fruit from his stick, it was determined as playful. And when Simba sneezed from the sand that Rafiki drizzled over his head, it was labeled as sensitive, in one meaning or another. And with those traits, he'd grow into a fine king one day.

Alas, the prince's uncle, Scar, was not given such a standing of royalty despite superior age opposed to Mufasa's. Before Simba had arrived, Scar was supposedly next in line for the throne. It was frustrating to him enough already to wait for the king to perish because of his being older, but with Simba in the mix, that dream would be impossible. And it greatly vexed him so. But he did not always desire the throne. Back then, he was a noble leader of the Lion Guard.

When first given the opportunity, Scar was determined to live up to the responsibility of ensuring the Pride Lands were safe. And along with that, he found a love in one of its primary members, the fleetest of the Lion Guard known as Panasei. Because of that love, they sired a daughter of their own and called her Zaria, a cub who bore her father's brown fur and her mother's blue eyes. Not long after, however, Scar was overcome with a lust for power, driven by fear of losing those he held dear. Soon enough, that same lust drove him to use the Roar of the Elders on his own guard, driving them away from the Pride Lands. That was the last time he ever used the roar.

As a result of his misconduct, two consequences occurred. The first was that Scar was stripped of his standing as leader of the Lion Guard and the power to use the roar. The second was of the most heart-wrenching. He'd killed Panasei with its power, leaving him to look after Zaria on his own, dejected and full of regret as far as his role in Panasei's destruction. However, it wasn't long before he blamed all of his troubles and suffering on Mufasa because of his being King. And he still does so even now...

About a month since then, in one of the many caves of Pride Rock, a small mouse was scurrying on the rocky floor, catching Zaria's attention as she tried to go after the little mouse. Of course, because of her current age, she could only reach her paws out for it before the mouse backed away, leaving her a bit disappointed that her meal evaded her. Fortunately, Scar ensured it wouldn't escape as he clamped down his paw on the mouse before lifting him up in front of Zaria as he spoke softly to her.

"Life's not fair, is it, my little one? While some are born to feast, others spend their lives in the dark... begging for scraps. Like you and I, for instance. You see, I, among other things, shall never be king."

As Scar hovered the mouse over her, Zaria reached her paws out and tried to swing them at the mouse as he chuckled from her playfulness as he spoke.

"And you... are a cub without a mother. Life is a cruel mistress, indeed."

As Scar lowered the mouse to Zaria, a certain voice piped up near him, urging him to put the mouse down as he looked dissatisfied towards the owner of the voice, Zazu, a bird with an orange beak nearly as long as a banana that is also the King's majordomo.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to play with your food?"

As Scar looked to Zazu, he only sighed at him, unamused with the fact that he's always telling him off on everything as he spoke while Zaria tried to dig into her father's paw to get her food, which was difficult for a cub her age as it acted like a cage.

"What do you want?"

"I'm here to announce that King Mufasa is on his way. So you'd better have a good excuse for missing the ceremony this morning."

With what's happened to him, Scar had that covered already. Apparently, Zazu took no pity on him despite his wife's departure. After all, he was responsible for it to begin with. However, he was convinced that Mufasa was the one at fault for driving him to it. At that moment, the mouse popped out from in between his fingers, making Zaria eager to get to it, only to stumble on his paw as the mouse scurried to its hole before he bore a feigned voice of disappointment towards Zazu.

"Oh, now look, Zazu. You made poor Zaria lose her lunch."

"Ha! You'll lose more than that when the King gets through with you. He's as mad as a hippo with a hernia."

"Ooh. I quiver with _fear..._"

As Scar crept closer to Zazu, he cautiously allowed Zaria to slip out of his front paw before the bird began to back away, afraid of what Scar would do.

"Now, Scar... don't look at me that way."

The bird was right to be afraid. Two thoughts crossed Scar's mind for bringing up the roar incident. One was to eat him without chewing, and another was to feed him to Zaria since she seemed to be hungry. Finally, the bird couldn't take it anymore and tried to take evasive action.

"HELP!"

As the bird flew away, Scar acted on instinct and clamped his mouth on him, trapping him in a prison of saliva. Before Scar could begin to swallow, Mufasa spoke up from afar, catching his attention.

"Scar."

Scar could only mumble his name as his mouth was full before the king addressed him again.

"Drop him."

In response, Zazu's mouth popped through Scar's before he replied.

"Impeccable timing, Your Majesty."

In compliance with the King's request, mostly because the taste proved to be less than satisfying when it swelled long enough, Scar spat up Zazu, leaving him covered in drool as Zaria looked at him, curious about the saliva on him before Scar sarcastically addressed the king himself.

"Why, if it isn't my big brother descending from on high to mingle with the commoners."

"Sarabi and I didn't see you at the presentation of Simba."

Personally, he didn't care for it at all. The fact that he was never going to be King made it abundantly clear that it wouldn't be worth his time. Nevertheless, he found it a necessity to say what he doesn't mean. Mostly, it was used for public appearances around the other subjects, but it lately turned into a habit with him.

"That was _today_? Oh, I feel simply awful."

As Scar draped his claws over the rocky wall, he made screeching sounds that not only sharpened his claws, but also caused Zazu to clench his teeth in intolerance of the cacophony before Scar spoke again while holding Zaria near his front paws as they were planted in front of her while she nestled against the warmth of the fur.

"Must've slipped my mind, on account of my paws being full, taking care of little Zaria here. Cute little thing, really. Of course, I meant no disrespect to His Majesty, or Sarabi. But, still... I mustn't disrespect Panasei by denying her wish to look after Zaria."

As Zaria purred on his father's paws, Zazu knew very well who was to blame for Panasei's death as he spoke.

"Yes, well, as full as your paws are, it's no excuse. As the King's brother, you should've been first in line."

"I _was _first in line. Or don't you remember? That is, until the precious prince arrived. That little hairball—"

Already seeing where his rant was going, Mufasa decided to cut it short and remind him of his place as he spoke.

"That _hairball _is my son, and your future king."

"Really? Oh, in that case, I should practice my curtsy. That is, after I find a meal for Zaria. Can't have her going hungry, you know."

As Scar scooped up the little cub in his mouth, he began to walk away, not willing to waste any more breath on him before Mufasa spoke to him, making him reconsider as he spoke up.

"Don't turn your back on me, Scar."

To reply back, Scar gently placed Zaria down by his paws again before he spoke with a turn.

"Oh, no, Mufasa. Perhaps _you_ shouldn't turn _your _back on _me_."

The instant those words left his mouth, Mufasa roared while drawing near Scar face-to-face as he felt threatened by his words.

"Is that a challenge?"

As Mufasa growled, Zaria looked frightened at the towering Mufasa as she sank into his paws before Scar spoke up, aware of his own limitations as opposed to his younger brother's.

"Temper, temper. You'll give Zaria nightmares. Besides, I wouldn't _dream _of challenging you."

Given how antagonistic he gets with Mufasa involved, Zazu found this sarcasm to be taken seriously.

"Pity. Why not?"

"Well, as far as brains go, I got the lion's share, but when it comes to _brute strength... _I'm afraid I'm at the shallow end of the gene pool. Now, if you'll excuse me..."

With that, Scar scooped up Zaria in his mouth again before he walked off as Zazu sighed at his demeanor.

"There's one in every family, sire. Two in mine, actually. And they always manage to ruin special occasions."

Knowing how dear Panasei was to Scar, Mufasa was quite possibly the only one who understood him. He knew Scar blamed him, but he still felt bad that he lost the one he loved, even if it was on his own accord. And every time he'd try to reason with him, Scar would brush him off. His loss of Panasei truly was a sad thing for him to go through. But still, Mufasa felt as though he wasn't making as much progress as he would've liked.

"What am I going to do with him?"

However, with how Scar treated him, Zazu thought nothing of it and poked fun at him.

"He'd make a very handsome throw rug."

"Zazu."

"And just think, whenever he gets dirty, you could take him out and beat him."

As Mufasa laughed at Zazu's joke a little, he still couldn't help but feel sorry for his younger brother after what he went through. Little did he know that Scar's trouble will be the least of his worries...


	2. Family Matter

**Chapter 1: **Family Matter

Many years had passed since Simba's and Zaria's births, and over time, they'd matured into young cubs, the boy bearing golden fur and bright red eyes, like his mother, and Zaria bearing the similar fur color as her father. As any young cub would, Zaria looked up to Scar as Simba did Mufasa. Although, Zaria had a different outlook as opposed to Simba. While he was more than excited to be a king one day, Zaria could care less about royalty, which was more than her father could stand to say. As far as she can tell, Zaria was happy the way she was. Of course, that didn't mean Zaria was thrilled with how she was being treated.

Like Simba, she didn't give baths much credit whenever she played. His licking on the fur was usually rough like sandpaper. And whenever she tried to go out with him, Zaria would be scolded not to go along with Simba. He did always get into trouble a lot, something that Scar didn't want for Zaria. So, Zaria was usually found nearby Scar whenever they're together. And at that moment, Zaria was laying down on the floor, bored as usual because Scar couldn't let her go play with Simba as her father flicked a bone off the edge. That is, until she noticed Simba running over to her with great news to give her as he spoke to her and Scar.

"Hey, Zaria, Uncle Scar. Guess what?"

"Simba? What is it?"

As Scar overheard Simba and Zaria's exchange, he gave a scowl. While he found his presence intolerable, Zaria took him to be a great cub to be with. And he didn't want to risk breaking Zaria's heart, so the least he did was allow Zaria to be with him in his cave, so that he could keep an eye on them. As Simba spoke to her, though, Scar was beginning to call that a mistake.

"I despise guessing games."

"I'm gonna be the King of Pride Rock."

As Simba said this, Zaria was visibly surprised as she gasped before replying while Scar looked none too pleased. He already knew he wouldn't be king, yet the young cub had to remind him of that.

"Really?"

"Is that so?"

"My dad just showed me the whole kingdom. And I'm gonna rule it all."

As Simba said this, Zaria gave a smile to him before she spoke up to him, congratulating him for his future promotion. While she didn't care about Simba's royal lineage, she still felt happy for him. Scar, on the other hand, was anything but happy as he sarcastically replied next.

"That sounds great, Simba."

"Well, forgive me for not leaping for joy. Bad back, you know."

As Scar slumped down, Simba became curious about his position. With his being future king, he felt it necessary to see the whole picture of him being one as he inquired to him while walking to him and laying on top of him.

"Uncle Scar, if I'm king, what'll that make you?"

"A monkey's uncle."

Hearing this reply, however sarcastic it was, Simba found the idea to be silly as he laughed a bit while he spoke.

"You're so weird."

"You have no idea."

As Simba smiled at Scar's wordplay, he became curious about where Zaria would end up as she spoke.

"What about you, Zaria? If I'm king, what would you be?"

This gave Zaria some food for thought. She was thinking hard about it for a while before it hit her. Her father always told her stories about how he was leader of the Lion Guard before it "disbanded", according to Scar. Hearing those stories was enough to make her excited to carry on the tradition as she replied.

"Well... maybe I'll be leader of the Lion Guard."

This made Simba surprised as Mufasa told him his own stories about the Lion Guard.

"Wow! That's so cool!"

"Well, not as cool as you being king."

"Yeah, got me there."

As Scar groaned from their conversation, Zaria became interested in something else and wanted to change the topic. With her being forced to stay, Zaria became a bit curious about the whole kingdom for herself. After all, she didn't leave the cave much, at least not by herself. So she was hoping Simba would clarify it to her as she spoke to him.

"So, Uncle Mufasa showed you the whole kingdom?"

"Uh-huh. There's this field of grass, you've probably been there. And a river for hippos to get fish, and—"

As Simba listed various examples, an idea of his own hatched in Scar's head as he saw a field of bones out far ahead before he spoke to him, feigning curiosity.

"And I don't suppose he showed you that rise on the northern border?"

This made Simba frown as he replied to him.

"No. He said I can't go there."

"And he's _absolutely_ right. It's far too dangerous. Only the bravest lions go there."

This intrigued both Simba and Zaria as they spoke up to him.

"Hey, I'm brave."

"Go where, Dad?"

"Oh, no, little ones, I just can't tell you."

This made the cubs more eager to know as they inquired once again.

"Please, Uncle Scar?"

"Tell us what?"

"Simba, Zaria, I'm only looking out for the well-being of my daughter and her favorite cousin."

As Scar brushed his paw over Zaria's head, she gave a small smile as she corrected him.

"Dad, Simba's my only cousin."

"All the more reason for me to protect him, especially you. An elephant graveyard is no place for young cubs."

Once Scar gave away the location, he put his paw over his mouth, as if realizing he divulged sensitive information to two young cubs as he spoke before Simba and Zaria became introgued.

"Oops!"

"An elephant what?"

"Whoa..."

"Oh, dear, I've said too much. Oh, well, I suppose you would've found that out sooner or later, what with you bring so clever and all."

As Scar brushed Simba's fur, Zaria became a little more comfortable to ask. After all, she isn't sneaking to him this time. Although, she felt it was a little difficult to ask at the same time because of her past sneakings. Nonetheless, it wouldn't hurt to try.

"So, Dad... can I go play with Simba today?"

As she flinched, expecting a glare to her, Scar instead put on a smile as he took her and Simba near him while she spoke.

"Of course you can."

"Really?"

"Only because you asked this time. As long as you promise me one thing. Promise me that none of you will go to that _dreadful _place."

Happy that her father would finally let her play with Simba, Zaria gave a nod to him as she spoke.

"Don't worry, Dad. We won't."

"There's a good lass. Now, you two run along and have fun. And remember, it's our little secret."

As Simba and Zaria ran along out of the cliffside, Scar bore a more sinister smile as he watched the children take off before he slumped down. He was actually planning on sending them to the elephant graveyard with his Impressive use of psychology. With any luck, Simba would be well taken care of with who dwells over there. But, on the other hand, his daughter might be in risk of that as well. However, this didn't faze Scar as he thought out of the plan from beginning to end. All that's left is to wait it out, and then the throne would be one paw closer to him.

* * *

Later, Simba and Zaria were meeting up with Nala, who was in the middle of a bath given to her by her mother, Serafina as he spoke to her, making her notice Zaria next to him as she widened her eyes amidst her licking.

"Hey, Nala."

"Hi, Simba. Wait, is that Zaria?!"

"Uh-huh. Uncle Scar said she'd come along this time. Anyway, we heard about this great place."

However, surprised as she was to see Zaria with him, Nala had other things on her mind, such as her bath as she spoke.

"Simba, in kinda in the middle of a bath."

At that moment, Sarabi spoke up, alerting Simba.

"And it's time for yours."

With that, Sarabi scooped up Simba before she began licking at him, making him moan as he felt his mane get out of place.

"Mom! Mom, you're messing up my mane!"

As his mane stuck up like spikes, Sarabi have a smile as Zaria laughed a little at how Simba looked before he put it back in place.

"Okay, okay. I'm clean. Can we go now?"

With Nala getting licked from her bottom up, she became curious about their destination.

"So, where are we going? It better not be anyplace dumb."

"No. It's really cool."

However, Sarabi overheard what Simba was talking about and tried to find out where he was going as she spoke to him.

"So where is this really cool place?"

Caught on the spot, Simba tried to cover his tracks as he spoke up to his mother.

"Oh. Around the waterhole."

This made Nala and Zaria surprised that he'd suggest it as they spoke in unison.

"The waterhole?"

"What's so great about the waterhole?"

"Yeah, Simba. Did you get hit in the head or something?"

In an attempt to make it obvious to the two that they weren't going there, Simba spoke up near them.

"I'll show you when we get there."

Getting the idea of what Simba meant, Nala and Zaria became interested as the former spoke up to Serafina.

"Oh. Uh, Mom, can I go with Simba and Zaria?"

"Hmm, what do you think, Sarabi?"

"Well..."

To convince her, the three of them grinned a smile to her as they pleaded.

"Please?"

"It's alright with me."

With that, they became eager to take off and headed out, only for Sarabi to give a certain condition on this as she spoke up.

"As long as Zazu goes with you."

Immediately, they stopped in their tracks at the mention of the majordomo's name as Simba spoke with disappointment.

"No! Not Zazu."

* * *

Later, the majordomo flew above the trio as he spoke up.

"Step lively. The sooner we get to the waterhole, the sooner we can leave."

As they walked under him, Nala turned to Simba and spoke to him.

"So, where are we _really _going?"

"An elephant graveyard."

This made Nala surprised while Zaria became worried. While Nala was just as thirsty for adventure as Simba was, Zaria recalled what her father told them about it and how they promised not to go there. This gave her a sick feeling in her stomach as Nala spoke to him before Zaria spoke her mind about it.

"Wow!"

"Shh! Zazu."

"Right. So how do we ditch the dodo?"

"Are you sure that's a good idea? Didn't we promise Dad _not _to go there?"

"He doesn't have to know."

"But Simba..."

"Relax, Zaria. Simba knows what he's doing."

As Zazu looked down to see them talking, he noticed Simba and Nala talking to each other and couldn't help but smile at them as he spoke up while flying down to them.

"Oh, just look at you two. Little seeds of romance blossoming in the savannah. Your parents would be thrilled, what with your being betrothed and all."

This earned glances of confusion from the cubs as they looked to Zazu while Zaria spoke to him.

"Be-what?"

"Betrothed. Intended. Affianced."

They still look confused from Zazu's wordplay before Nala spoke to him this time.

"Meaning?"

"One day, you two are going to be married!"

However, the cubs still had no idea as they didn't know who they'd be married to in the scenario before Zazu explained again.

"To each other!"

Instantly, the cubs showed disgusted looks, especially Zaria as she didn't quite grasp how the concept would work before Simba and Nala spoke to the bird.

"I can't marry her. She's my friend."

"Yeah. It'd be so weird."

"Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but you two turtle doves have no choice. Even Scar had to marry someone in his life. It's a tradition going back generations."

As Zazu said this, Zaria became curious as she widened her eyes. Evidently, it just crossed her mind that she didn't know her father as well as she thought as she spoke to the bird.

"What? My dad married someone?"

"Of course. And that someone was your mother."

Hearing Zazu speak of her, Zaria's face became evident with intrigue, making the cubs take notice of it as Simba spoke, confused about what was going through her mind.

"Zaria, are you okay?"

Truth be told, Zaria didn't know. She just got hit with a bombshell and got caught in an explosion of questions beginning to rise up in her mind like a flood. And it made her more desirable to know about her more than ever. And there was only one person she knew who'd know her best: Scar.

"I don't know... Uh, why don't you just go on without me? I've got something to ask my dad."

With that, Zaria took off, leaving Simba and Nala with Zazu as the bird became admittedly confused.

"Was it something I said?"

* * *

Meanwhile, Scar was lying in his cave, eating his zebra meat and hoping that Simba wouldn't come back to haunt him of his inability to become king again when he heard footsteps from afar and saw Zaria by herself, surprising him as she was with Simba not too long ago. As Zaria walked over to him, Scar sat up as she spoke.

"Dad?"

"Zaria? I-I didn't expect you so early. Did you decide not to lurk about with the little hairba— we, I mean the prince?"

As Zaria explained, Scar continued feasting on his meat, pretending that he was listening as he spoke.

"Nothing. It's just... Simba, Nala, and I were going to... the waterhole, but Zazu was talking about marriage..."

"Mm-hmm?"

"...how it goes back generations."

"Go on."

"And I'm just wondering... who was my mom?"

Upon her asking this, Scar was instantly taken aback as he spat out his food before he turned to her as he spoke.

"Where did you hear about that?"

Surprised as she was from her father's reaction, Zaria proceeded to talk to him.

"I-I told you. From Zazu. He never said who she was, though."

Of course. It has to be Zazu. He never did know how to keep his beak shut.

"I swear, the next time I see that bird..."

"Please tell me, Dad. I just want to know who she was."

As Scar was prepared to refuse, he saw Zaria's pleading face looking right back at him. It was a face that even he couldn't resist as he blubbered his mouth before he growled and spoke.

"Alright! I'll tell you. Your mother... was the fleetest of the Lion Guard, Panasei."

This made Zaria very, very surprised to hear about it. Her parents, proud members of the Lion Guard. It was enough to make her excited for life as she spoke.

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

As Zaria became eager, she became a bit confused as to why she doesn't see much of her as opposed to her father.

"Well... what happened to her?"

As Zaria said this, Scar clamped his paw down on the ground, making her back up in surprise before he replied coldly, clearly not in the mood to answer that much.

"I'd rather not discuss that."

Noticing how frightened he'd just made Zaria, Scar cleated his throat before he acted more calmly. It's not her fault she didn't know her mother, after all. It's natural for her to be curious. Although, he's hoping he won't have to divulge the whole truth all at once. He still hasn't come up with a way to put it straight to her without making her angry at him. Then he had an idea that would give him enough time to formulate a way to tell her as he spoke to her.

"Perhaps tomorrow. You'll be permitted one question about your mother per day. Nothing more."

"You're sure?"

"Yes. You did ask your one question, today. Ask me again, tomorrow."

This made Zaria a bit upset that she was blown off. However, she was still getting answers nonetheless. And besides, knowing her mother was a member of the Lion Guard, too, she was more than certain it was her destiny as she smiled.

"Well... okay. Thanks, dad. See you later."

With that, Zaria scampered off from the cave as Scar waved goodbye to her before remembering what he'd done to Panasei as voices echoed in his mind. Both his and hers...

"_What are you doing?!"_

"_We won't let you disrupt __the__ Circle of Life because of your madness, Taka!"_

"_It's not madness; it is my right!"_

As flashes of the past flared up in Scar's, he was using the Roar of the Elders on his own guard as they appeared in the sky before Scar was forced to watch his wife fall into the gorge as rocks crumbled down before the flashes stopped all at once as a single tear streamed down his face before he angrily snarled while brushing that tear aside and clamped that paw to the ground, causing the tear to splash on the ground as he seethed, trying to calm himself down before he resumed his normal behavior as he laid down on the floor while speaking to himself.

"Life is a cruel mistress..."


	3. The Elephant Graveyard

**A/N: Hello. I just realized that I forgot to tell you who would voice Zaria in my story. Zaria in her younger years will be portrayed by Kari Whalgren and her older self will be portrayed by Amanda Leighton. There are a few more OC's but I'll explain them as I go along. For now, enjoy the story. :)**

**Chapter 2: **The Elephant Graveyard

Meanwhile, Zaria was headed back to the waterhole for any sign of Simba and Nala. She didn't know if they'd gone yet, but she wanted to tell them what she just learned about her mother so badly that she didn't care. However, when she got there, she only noticed a lone rhinoceros sitting down on the grass before she heard a muffled voice under it as she got closer.

"I beg your pardon, madame, but... get off!"

As Zaria heard that voice, she became confused as she spoke to herself.

"Zazu?"

"Simba? Nala!"

Upon hearing his voice underneath the rhinoceros, Zaria became surprised that he'd end up under the business end of a rhino in the span of her time away as she went closer to the rhino and spoke up to Zazu.

"Zazu? What happened?"

"Zaria? Is that you?"

"Yeah. It's me."

"Can you get her off of me, please?"

"I'll try."

With that, Zaria looked up to the rhino before trying to speak to it.

"Excuse me, but can you get off of my friend, please?"

In response, the rhino stood up, lifting Zazu from his unfortunate prison as he gasped harshly before Zaria pulled him away and helped him up as she spoke.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm not sure about that... but thank you. Have you seen Simba or Nala by chance?"

"No. I thought they were with you."

This made the majordomo go in a panic as he spoke.

"Oh, no! I've lost them! The king is not going to be happy about this, i just know it! Oh, where could they have gone?!"

Then, it clicked in her mind as to what happened. Zaria recalled how Simba and Nala were talking about going to the elephant graveyard before Zazu brought up the marriage lesson to her. For them to not be around could only mean one thing: they must've tricked Zazu. How he ended up under the bottom of the rhino, she can't figure out, but either way, she wouldn't like the thought of what could happen over there.

"Uh, Zazu..."

"What?"

"I have a feeling I know where they are. But I don't think you'll like it."

* * *

Later, Zaria and Zazu found themselves near the geyser-infested elephant graveyard of the Pride Lands. By now, she told him about where they actually intended to go, which infuriated him. But beyond that, he was greatly concerned for the children as they were his responsibility. So, you could imagine his concern as he spoke.

"Oh, I do hope the children are alright. This is way beyond the boundaries of the Pride Lands. They shouldn't even be there."

As another geyser went off near Zazu, he shrieked before he went behind Zaria's leg while shivering before she spoke up, looking as far ahead as she could, becoming more and more awestruck with the sight. It's no wonder Simba and Nala wanted to go there. The sights were truly a marvel in their own right. Nevertheless, making sure Simba and Nala were safe if she could help it held top priority for her as she replied to Zazu.

"Well... let's go."

As Zaria tried to go in, however, Zazu popped up in front of her and spoke.

"Absolutely not. You will stay here while I bring the children back. Just because they've crossed boundaries, that doesn't mean you should—"

At that moment, Zaria took notice of Simba and Nala up ahead as she spoke up.

"I found them!"

As she said this, Zazu looked to her direction and saw them as he sighed with relief before he cleared his throat and spoke.

"Now, as I said, you will stay here."

With that, Zazu flew towards the cubs while Zaria groaned in annoyance. She came here to help her friends, but Zazu wouldn't even let her do that. And it got to be pretty annoying, even if he was just doing his job.

"I can see why Dad doesn't like him. He's so bossy. All I wanted was to help."

At that moment, a deep voice spoke from within the fog of dust, catching Zaria's attention.

"The only person you can help out here is yourself."

As Zaria looked left and right through the fog of dust, she couldn't see any figure behind it as she spoke out to the dust, hoping to find the source of the voice.

"Who's there? Where are you?"

To answer, the figure spoke again, asking a question of its own.

"The real question is, where do you think _you_ are?'"

At that moment, laughter emerged from the sides of where the figure spoke as they, along with countless others like them, emerged from the cloud of dust and stalked closer to Zaria, revealing the figures to be Hyenas. From what Zaria was told by her father about them, they're sentenced to the Shadowlands, the only dark place in the kingdom. And because of this, they had poor living conditions, such as nothing growing on the dead soil and lack of decent food, resulting in their "every animal for himself" ideal. And that was very disruptive to the Circle of Life. When she heard about it, Zaria felt bad for the Hyenas; they may have been enemies since the dawn of time, but she felt that they shouldn't have to be that way. However, in this case, Zaria would be having second thoughts as one of the Hyenas around her spoke.

"Well, look at this. We weren't expecting guests today."

As the Hyena said this, Zaria became a little unnerved at the greeting as she gulped before he and the other Hyena spoke while the latter gutted next to him after the sentence.

"Would a cub like you like to... stay for dinner?"

"Yeah! Stay for dinner, because you look like a midnight snack!"

"Can you just give me a little bit of space, Azizi?"

"I'm helping, Kamari."

As Azizi and Kamari argued, Zaria looked dumbfounded towards the scene as she raised her eyebrows in confusion as the figure in charge groaned at the incompetence with the latter explaining to the former about their plan.

"We talked about this before. I come in alone. I will lead the distraction so everyone can circle."

"Okay, okay. Sorry."

"Don't be sorry! Just do it!"

Quickly, the leader lost his temper as he snapped, forcing Kamari and Azizi to cease their talk.

"Enough!"

As the Hyenas froze up, the leader looked to Zaria and glanced at her as he walked over to the cub and gave a small smirk.

"Now, this is a meal I've waited my whole life for..."

As the Hyena drew closer to Zaria, she became admittedly nervous over what he intended to do with her as she tried to work up the nerve to talk to him as she spoke.

"Y-You can't do this. If King Mufasa finds out, you'll regret it!"

As Zaria squeaked her words in fear, Kamari and Azizi became cautious as they were all too aware of how powerful he is.

"Wait a second. The-the King? As in you-know-who?"

"The one who rules you-know-where?"

However, the leader was only frustrated at the mention of the name as he countered Zaria while laying his paw on her, making her pant her breath as he spoke.

"Mufasa doesn't rule me. Now, for the last time, why are you here?"

Nervous as she was to speak again, Zaria tried her best to speak in her predicament logically.

"D-Didn't you hear me?"

"What?!"

As the leader snarled with a shout, Zaria panicked again as she explained.

"Nothing! Nothing. It's just... You should've heard what I said, shouldn't you?"

As the Hyena growled, he began to recall what she said as she whimpered before he sighed.

"Oh. That's right. You came here to help your friends. Speaking of, we should introduce you to our own."

As the leader took the cub in his mouth, Zaria could only dangle from his mouth as she heard Simba's voice far away along with a couple more Hyenas.

"That would make you..."

"The future king."

"Do you know what we do to kings who step out of their kingdom?"

"You can't do anything to me."

In response to Simba's bold claim, the leader spoke from afar as he dropped Zaria under him.

"Of course not, your majesty. That's what friends are for."

As the leader bore a deadly smirk, Simba and Nala became terrified to see her in the same situation as them before he tried to speak to her, getting her attention as she answered back to him.

"Zaria? What are you doing here?"

"Zazu and I came to get you and Nala out of this. We promised we'd never go there, remember?"

This only earned a dark chuckle from the Hyena as he spoke to the young prince.

"What an unexpected treat to eat the son of the king..."

This made Zazu more than nervous as he tried to reason with the Hyena.

"Let the cubs go, Kaja! T-They made a mistake, trespassing on your land and all, but if you do what I think you're going to do, you'll star a war with Mufasa!"

This confused Simba as he spoke to Zazu about what he was told earlier.

"But Zazu, you told me they were nothing but slobbery, mangy, stupid poachers."

Obviously, it infuriated Kajar as he growled before speaking coldly to Simba.

"And whose fault do you think that is, _prince_?It was your ancestors that exiled us from our land. It's _your _fault that we're starving enough to take drastic measures like this in the first place!"

As Kajar said this, Zaria tried to change his mind next as she spoke to him while crawling down to Simba.

"Look, I can't tell you who's right or wrong, but we don't need to escalate things like this. If that war comes, nothing will be left. Not even your pack."

"Lions and Hyenas have been at war since the beginning of time, cub. Why should this be any different?"

This put Zaria at the center stage as Simba and Nala's lives were now in her hands. What she has to say to him now could either make or break their chance of escape. And it was a ton of pressure to be placed on a young cub. Nevertheless, Zaria still felt bad for the Hyenas that were exiled. They never had the opportunity to learn of the Circle of Life. But perhaps... perhaps she could be the one to teach it to them as she spoke.

"Because... because of the Circle of Life."

Hearing her answer, Kajar assumed it was because of a usual tirade about that sort of gong as he and the other Hyenas laughed before Kajar spoke again.

"And what does this 'Circle of Life' have to offer us, cub?"

"More food for your bellies. Isn't that what you wanted?"

As the Hyenas heard this context, they began to murmur considering their situation as Kamari and Azizi spoke as Zaria continued her heat to make peace.

"Oh, yeah. I could use something to eat."

"Uh-huh. Me, too."

"Look at the place you live in. It's the way it is now, because you didn't respect the creatures who used to live here, because you didn't abide by the Circle of Life! Don't you think it's time to put an end to this needless starvation?!"

Unfortunately, the Hyenas weren't moving or murmuring anymore as they fell silent before Kajar spoke.

"You're right. It _is_ time to end this starvation. Eat them all."

As the Hyenas swarmed around them, Zazu tried to make an exit with the trio as he spoke.

"My, my, my! Look at the sun! It's time to go."

Before they could find a way out, Shenzi, one of the Hyenas with a long hair over her muzzle, interfered before Banzai, another Hyena that was beside her spoke up.

"What's the hurry? We'd _love _for you to stick around for dinner."

"Yeah. We could have whatever's... lion around."

As Banzai came up with the zinger, the group began to laugh, aside from Kajar, who'd turned away, knowing the cubs will be food shortly as he slumped down while Banzai piped up.

"Wait, wait, I got one, I got one, I got one! Make mine a cub sandwich. Whatcha think?"

As the Hyenas laughed over Shenzi's one-liner, another of her entourage, Ed, took notice of something going wrong as he began booting indecipherable while pointing his paws at it, easily infuriating Shenzi before Banzai, Kamari, and Azizi noticed this as thefirst spoke up to Shenzi.

"Hey, did we order this dinner to go?"

"No. Why?"

"Because there it goes!"

By the time they noticed the cubs and Zazu making their getaway, Kajar became quickly frustrated with the fact that they were just watching them take off as he overheard the whole scene, realizing that he'd called it a victory too soon before he turned back to them and shouted.

"After them! Do not let them get away!"

With that, the pack of Hyenas all took off after the cubs with them running right towards them along with Shenzi, Azizi, Kamari, Banzai, and Ed. As the Hyenas chased the cubs, Zazu was falling a bit behind them as Banzai caught the majordomo by the tail and dragged him away as the cubs caught their breath once they were farther away as Simba turned to Zaria and Nala and spoke to them.

"You guys okay?"

"Yeah, Simba. You alright, Nala?"

"Uh-huh."

At that moment, Zaria noticed too late that there was one more passenger forgotten as she spoke before Nala spoke to Simba.

"Wait. Where's Zazu?"

"Simba, you don't think—?"

As Simba heard this, he began to get worried for him and wanted to help him, even if he was a bit of a bother to him.

"We gotta go back for him!"

Far away, Banzai was using Zazu as a puppet as the bird screamed while helplessly being led to the small geyser as Kajar, Shenji, Azizi, Kamari, and Ed watched.

"And the majordomo bird hippity-hopped all the way to the birdy boiler."

"No! Not the birdy boiler!"

As Zazu's bottom was stuffed into the geyser, it began to blow steam before erupting to blow Zazu all the way out of the graveyard as he screamed while Kamari shouted to him.

"Yeah, you better not come back unless you wanna get eaten!"

As the Hyenas, with the exception of Kajar who simply gave an amused smirk, laughed at poor Zazu's misfortune, Simba shouted to them.

"Hey! Why don't you pick on somebody your own size?"

This bold question made Kajar give a harsh, cold, and cruel type of laughter as he spoke.

"The future king is telling me what to do. You must be a brave cub to defy me. I wonder how that bravery will taste..."

"Oops."

As Kajar drew nearer to the cubs, Zaria looked to Simba before she spoke to him, hoping that he thought ahead.

"Now what?"

"Uh... run!"

As Simba shouted this, Kajar leaped at the cubs and just missed them as he closed his mouth sharply before they ran away from the Hyenas just in time for the other Hyenas to surprise them by bursting through the geyser in a jumpscare before missing them as they stopped just short of their fangs and ran away again before climbing up a rocky ledge and then sliding on the skeleton's back before leaping into a pile of bones as they crashed into it. From there, they tried to climb up another mountain of bones as theHyenas went after them before Nala began to slip, forcing her to call for help.

"Simba! Zaria!"

As Simba and Zaria turned to see her, they gasped as Nala was beginning to fall to the ground level with the Hyenas catching up as Simba went towards her and scratched Shenzi's face, earning her growl before climbing up as Zaria noticed what was about to happen before going down as she leaped at Shenzi, who would've pounced on them were it not for Zaria before Simba and Nala looked to her in worry as they shouted.

"Zaria!"

When Zaria landed on top of Shenzi at the ground, she found herself surrounded by the Hyenas as they swarmed around her before she looked up to the duo and tried to get them away.

"Don't worry about me, Simba! Just go!"

"We're not leaving without you!"

Unfortunately, he wasn't given much choice as Banzai and Ed climbed up before Simba looked to see Zaria being knocked off of Shenzi by Kajar as she grunted while Shenzi and her entourage climbed up before Simba took off with Nala as he scampered off. Seeing that they got away, Zaria then looked all around her to see Kajar, Kamari, and Azizi with several other Hyenas around her as the leader of the group spoke.

"So, you've managed to protect your prince. But was he really worth your life?"

Presented with no chance of escape, Zaria was becoming more and more afraid of what could happen to her as Kajar spoke again.

"Your actions are minuscule at best. One way or another, Mufasa's bloodline ends today."

Upon hearing this, Zaria widened her eyes at hearing how Simba would die as she clenched her paws' nails on the ground. She came all that way to save Simba, and yet she couldn't save herself. A miserable situation by itself, were it not for Kajar's taunts.

"What...?"

"Haven't you been listening? Your future king... will be dead."

As Zaria heard this again, she could picture Mufasa's sad face and Sarabi's distraught look as she spoke to him in a broken voice.

"No..."

"And you will end up as nothing more than our next meal. You, and your friend."

As Zaria heard about how Nala would be next to be eaten, she could picture the horror on Serafina's face before tears started to come out of her face as her voice became laced with anger while she spoke.

"No...!"

"And then, Mufasa himself will fall, and the Pride Lands will be our banquet."

As Zaria heard the next threat being directed at the Pride Lands, her own home, she became fed up quickly with them and put her paws down on the ground as she looked at Kajar with a look of hatred towards him before the Hyenas became intrigued and afraid as she tried to speak, only for a roar to emerge from behind, confusing the Hyenas. Did that come out of her? No, it couldn't have. She's too young thus far to have developed it. So that could mean one thing: Help has arrived.

And Zaria's assumption proved to be right as Scar and Mufasa went towards the Hyenas with Zazu flying by them as the lions beat down on the Hyenas around Zaria with strikes of their paws across their faces and teeth clamping down on their backs to lurch them away before Mufasa and Scar turned to each other as the latter spoke.

"You go on ahead and save Simba and Nala. I'll keep her safe."

"Right."

As Mufasa went towards the cave, hoping to find Simba, Scar looked at Kajar, surprised at his presence before the lion spoke to the Hyena, making his message clear about his child.

"If you ever come near my daughter again..."

Upon realizing that the young cub belonged to the brother of Mufasa, Kajar looked back at her and him before he conceded. Even though he was weaker compared to Mufasa, Scar possessed a strength in his own right. And thus, it was just as much a death sentence to challenge him as it was to challenge Mufasa. And that was why he'd aligned himself with Scar. They both shared a deep seated hatred for Mufasa and wanted him and his prince out of the picture. But Zaria was supposed to be another matter. Alas, Kajar did not know the cub's name and became embarrassed as he spoke.

"No. Not again, Scar. Never."

"You've been warned, Kajar. Now leave."

After the embarrassment, Kajar turned to his pack and spoke to them.

"Leave them be. This isn't our meal to take."

With that, the Hyenas all left in bitter disappointment as Kamari spoke up.

"Aw. We were so hungry..."

As the Hyenas left, Scar turned to her with a face that told of disappointment. When he did, Zaria felt so small, considering she'd broken her promise not to enter the elephant graveyard as she tried to explain.

"Dad, I'm so sorry. When I found out where Simba and Nala went, I tried to get them out, and—"

"No. Excuses. We're leaving. Now."

* * *

Later, while Mufasa, who'd already saved Simba and Nala, took them back home with Zazu, Scar and Zaria were walking by themselves to the cave just under Pride Rock with both of them silent. Neither one had said a thing the whole time they were walking to the Pride Lands, with the daughter not having said anything out of shame for defying her father while he said nothing because he was clearly upset with her that Simba was still alive. Of course, she didn't know that he hated Simba and Mufasa that much, so he couldn't really blame her. Although, he was admittedly worried about what they could've done to his only daughter. If he hadn't shown up alongside Mufasa in time, his plan would've wound up killing Zaria, too. He should've known that Hyenas were that dense. And yet he had to wonder...

If she knew she wasn't supposed to go to the elephant graveyard, then why did Zaria go there? Was that because that she was as rebellious as Simba? No, she's too loyal to her father to do that. Although, she seemed to care about Simba being safe. Then it hit him. She must've been desperate to protect her family, just like Panasei... To know for sure, Scar finally spoke to his daughter.

"Zaria. Come over here."

As Zaria looked to him, she could tell that her punishment was going to come. And she dreaded every second of it due to the suspense. She just wanted to get it over with. But the problem was, even if she tried, she realized that she could never truly move on, not with how helpless she was with the Hyenas. Her mother wouldn't have been this helpless if she was in her situation. She would've found a way around the Hyenas and saved Simba and Nala. If only she was still around... As Zaria began to show melancholy towards that feeling, Scar took notice of that and began to feel upset himself as he tried to tell her off as gently as possible, so as not to break his daughter.

"Zaria... is there any particular reason why you've deliberately disobeyed me?"

For a moment, Zaria was a bit worried that Scar would be angry with what she had to say for herself. But as the silence dragged on, Zaria began to see that the only other thing that would anger him further was silence when being asked as Scar scraped his claws on the ground.

"I'm waiting..."

Not willing to see his bad side, Zaria agreed to tell him as she spoke.

"Because... I wanted to get Simba and Nala out of the elephant graveyard. We promised you that we wouldn't go there, but when I came back, I just... I had this feeling that they went there. So, I went with Zazu to get there so that we could get them out. Then, we were ambushed by the Hyenas. I tried to offer them a better solution for their lives, but instead... they tried to eat us. And I tried to help Simba and Nala get out, but I couldn't find my way away from the Hyenas, and then... they were taunting me about how they'd eat Simba, Nala, Mufasa, and the Pride Lands. And... and I couldn't do anything..."

Before Zaria could continue, her voice was beginning to break, remembering how weak they had made her feel as she began to shed tears on her face, much to Scar's worry as he pulled her in close to him to try to soothe her. While she did end up in more trouble than she should've been with Simba, Scar felt that she shouldn't have to suffer for his antics and tried to soothe her as he held his paw closer to her.

"There, there, Zaria. Never mind what they said. They are scavengers, after all."

"What difference does it make, Dad? They're right. I couldn't do _anything _to save them. I bet you and Mom weren't so powerless."

As Zaria sniffled near her father, Scar found himself placed in an important moment between father and daughter. Even with all his scheming, Scar could not have planned for this. Of course, he had plenty of memories of Panasei to help, but he hadn't relied on them for so long, they'd be almost distant memories by now. But if there was one memory he'd use, it was how much Panasei meant to him as he looked down at her and spoke.

"Actually, Zaria... of all the Lion Guard's members, your mother and I... were the most powerless."

Hearing this, Zaria looked up to her father and became confused as she wiped her tears away before she spoke.

"Really? That can't be true. You were the leader of the Lion Guard."

"Even leaders can be afraid. I should know. In one of our missions, your mother once considered making peace with the Hyenas, like you did, though I won't know what crossed either of your minds about it. Panasei wanted to do what was best for the Pride Lands. But I told her there was no reasoning with them. So, she went off alone. Afterwards, the same thing that happened with you... happened to her. Only difference was that you were lucky to survive. But your mother—"

Hearing the hesitation in his voice, Zaria began to fear the worst.

"Was she killed?"

"What? No! Heavens, no. But she was wounded. When I arrived to save her, the Hyenas attacked me, especially in the most... _sensitive _place."

As Scar pointed to his eye, Zaria began to realize why her father didn't have much trust in Hyenas as she gasped before he spoke again.

"It was a teaching moment for us. Never trust creatures that feast without reason. Of course, one good thing came out of that moment. You."

"Me?"

"Because of that moment, your mother and I realized how important we were to each other. Then, we wound up married and having a beautiful young cub."

As Zaria heard this, she couldn't stop herself from bringing about the waterworks as they leaked out of her eyes and urged her to be near her father as she sobbed before she spoke in his chest.

"I'm so sorry, Dad. I won't disobey you again. Please forgive me..."

As Zaria sobbed on him, Scar held her close and brushed her back with his paw as he spoke.

"Don't be sad, my little one. Of course you're forgiven."

Once her sobs dialed down to sniffles, Zaria tried her best to speak with her voice intact as she spoke.

"Can we always be together? Like you and Mom?"

As Zaria asked this of Scar, her father bore a simple smile as he spoke.

"Of course, Zaria. Anything... for family."

As he drew Zaria close to him, she gave a soft moan before she looked at the night sky with Scar, seeing countless stars in the air above them as she looked up to her father, still wondering about how the Hyenas lived, despite today's events.

"Hey, Dad?"

"Hmm? Yes?"

"I wonder if the Hyenas ever thought about the stars above them?"

As Scar heard his daughter's curiosity, he became baffled by how considerate she is of Hyenas in spite of what they could've done to her, what they said to her, and what Scar was trying to teach her about them. She truly was her mother's daughter after all...

"If they did, they'd assume it'd be bountiful food beyond their reach."

This earned a small laugh from Zaria before Scar caressed her fur with his paw and spoke gently.

"That's enough for now. Go to sleep, little one."

"Okay, Dad..."

As Zaria drifted off to sleep with a smile, feeling secure in her father's protection, Scar bore a smile of his own before he gently slumped down beside her as he slept beside his daughter, grateful that he had at least one good thing in his non-kingly life. Still, his desire to be royalty lingered in his mind. But at the moment, it was overpowered by his love for Zaria. For tonight, love triumphs over greed. But greed will not be done yet...

**A/N: Hello again. As you no doubt noticed, one of the Hyenas from both 1994 and 2019 aren't like the others. And it's Kajar, who is portrayed by Ralph Fiennes. I felt the Hyenas needed to behave more like a pack and showcase their strength in numbers. Also, Panasei would be portrayed by Rachel Leigh Cook in my story. Beyond that, there isn't much to say until later. For now, be patient. A new chapter will begin mid-August.**


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